Bitcoin surging as investors flock back to cryptocurrencies

While Bitcoin rallied 51 per cent since the beginning of May, it’s biggest competitor, Ether, rose just 29 per cent during the same period. Many coins tumbled as much as 95 per cent in value last year, while Bitcoin slumped 74 per cent. Bitcoin traded at all-time high of almost $US20,000 in December 2017.

Some investors are also ditching less-known coins so they don’t miss out on the Bitcoin rally, Sid Shekhar, co-founder of tracker TokenAnalyst, said in a phone interview. Coins such as Bitcoin SV and IOTA have missed out almost entirely and are down on the year.

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Adding to the attraction is Bitcoin’s more developed infrastructure. A venture known as Bakkt that includes regulated exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange said this week that it plans to begin testing its own futures in July.

“It’s becoming increasingly more apparent that having an insurance policy is warranted” with other financial assets under pressure from the threat of a trade war between the US and China, said Travis Kling, founder of the crypto hedge fund Ikigai. “The world is waking up to that.’

The rally follows on the heels of some bad news for the industry, such as troubles for major exchange Bitfinex, which has been accused by the New York attorney general of hiding the loss of more than $US850 million ($1.22 billion) of comingled corporate and client funds.

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‘This is what happens when all of the good news is ignored for a full year and gets bottled up,’ Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca, said in a research note. ‘We’re now in a period where all of the bad news is largely ignored and brushed off.’

That could be because more investors believe that the crypto winter is over.

‘2018 was a pretty tough year for crypto,” said Kyle Samani, co-founder of hedge fund Multicoin Capital Management.